John Forristall was a Boston Bruins trainer. And he just happened to be roomies with one of the most famous hockey players in the game..According to Stephen Brunt’s book, In Search of Bobby Orr, at one point he shared a house with Bobby..I once saw Orr play at the Olympia, vs my Red Wings. And holy man, I don’t think there was another hockey player, who could carry the puck up the ice with such force..The Wings fell back, as well they should. There was no stopping a young, healthy Bobby Orr. He could kill you more ways than a Ukrainian kamikaze drone.. Bobby OrrThe moment after Bobby Orr scored the winning goal when the Bruins defeated the St Louis Blues, in the 1970 Stanley Cup final. .But there was one thing, about Bobby Orr that many people don’t know..He gave back. He cared. And despite his stardom, he kept to himself..Not like today’s overpaid and pampered athletes, who rarely, if ever, give back to society..According to Forristall, Bobby would go incognito to children’s hospitals whenever he could..He never told anyone, didn’t want anybody to know. There was no social media either, back then, thank God..Forrestal says when Bobby came back from those visits he would sit on the bed and weep. Just sit there, and cry..Yeah, imagine that..A superstar like Bobby Orr, visiting sick children and being devastated by what he saw and experienced..It is also said that Orr played a leading role in helping bedraggled former teammate, Derek “Turk” Sanderson, who was addicted to drugs and alcohol and sleeping under bridges..Orr checked him into rehab, where Sanderson would later become sober and find his way back from the abyss..Yes, character, folks..Character. That’s what it’s about. Not mega-salaries for sports stars. Who don’t give a flying you-know-what, about anyone, or anything except their bloated bank accounts, their mansions and their sports cars..There are exceptions, of course..Such as what former Montreal Canadiens’ defenceman, PK Subban, did in donating $10 million to the local Children’s Hospital in September of 2015..A donation the health-care facility described as "the biggest philanthropic commitment by a sports figure in Canadian history.".That money was to be paid out over several years and used for a fund called PK's Helping Hands, which will help families struggling financially with a child's illness..In today’s world, most highly paid athletes don’t give back enough. If they do, it’s a rarity, I’m afraid to say..Former Detroit Lions quarterback, Mathew Stafford, now with the LA Rams, and his wife Kelly, made a $100,000 commitment to help fund Forgotten Harvest, which provided food to charities six days a week and the Detroit Public Schools Community District’s efforts to provide immediate relief to students impacted by COVID..According to The Detroit News, the Stafford's convictions manifested in words and actions. He continues to kneel during the national anthem ahead of games and he elaborated on his thoughts in a lengthy piece on the Player's Tribune titled, "We Can't Just Stick to Football.".He also donated more than US$1.5 million to his alma mater, the University of Georgia, with much of those funds earmarked toward the athletic department's new social justice initiative, as well as scholarships for inner-city youth trying to overcome financial hardship in their quest for an education..Imagine, just imagine, if every highly-paid athlete did that? Giving back to what helped carry them to success..Remember Damar Hamlin’s charity GoFundMe? The fundraiser initially established to support a toy drive would raise US$9 million..Stafford matched the so-called GOAT, Tampa Bay Bucs’ QB Tom Brady (US$512 million net worth), in donating $10,000 each to the cause of the Buffalo Bills’ safety, who cheated death on live TV, saved only by the Bills’ medical staff..This week, it was announced that soccer superstar Lionel Messi, now 36 years old and in the twilight of his career, will be paid a staggering US$54 million base salary for Inter Miami — comfortably the MLS’s top earner..Chicago Fire's Xherdan Shaqiri previously topped the charts at US$8 million, a mere drop in the ocean in comparison..Messi will fill seats, that is no question. Many of Miami’s future games are sold out — resale tickets going for crazy prices. A chance to see the world’s greatest soccer player (sorry Ronaldo) too big to pass up..And then we have stories of The Greatest, none other than heavyweight boxing champ Muhammad Ali, reportedly giving money to poor folks who would show up outside his Chicago home..As great as he was, he never forgot where he came from..Look, I’m a big sports fan. I am. I love the NFL, I watch some NHL, I love Formula One racing, the Premiership and Major League Baseball..And I still like watching boxing, not that MMA stuff..Salaries in all these sports have gone off the dial..A survey of the most recent baseball contracts shows 15 pitchers making more than US$20 million per season. And the 10 highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL have contracts totalling more than US$2 billion combined..Exactly how much of Messi’s mega-salary, will go to help others?.It turns out that the Argentinian star, in addition to being an ambassador for UNICEF, has created his own non-profit, the Leo Messi Foundation..According to media reports, through these charity works Messi has changed the lives of people worldwide..For example, when US organizations dithered due to political issues, Messi did not hesitate, quickly donating US$4 million to help earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria through his association..But do all athletes give back, like the Messis the Staffords and the Subbans?.I hardly think so..In fact, which professional sport is the most prolific charitable fundraiser? You will be surprised … golf's PGA Tour raises more money for charity than any other league..More than US$3.64 billion in donations to date, according to the PGA..Using a four-star rating system for transparency, administrative and fundraising costs, cash build-up and social outcomes, an evaluation by Charity Intelligence Canada (CIC) gave most sports foundations one star, placing them in the bottom 20% of more than 700 charities..Only those foundations supported by Toronto-based teams — the Blue Jays, Maple Leafs and Raptors — scored two stars, the CBC reported..The report criticized how much some of the foundations spend on fundraising, relative to what goes toward charitable causes..It found, for example, that for each dollar raised by the Calgary Flames Foundation only 30 cents goes to a charitable cause..On the high end, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment — owner of the Leafs and the Raptors — and the Vancouver Canucks for Kids Fund are in line with other charities, in the 70-cents range..Charities such as the United Way — whose sole purpose is to provide grants to other charities — generally give back between 80 to 90 cents to the dollar..In saying that, the Flames Foundation has distributed more than $55 million to charitable organizations in Southern Alberta..Former Flames star Jarome Iginla, who remains loved by fans, did a lot of high-profile local charity work, including acting as an ambassador for KidSport Calgary..The player also donated an initial $31,000 and then donated money with every goal that he scored since 2000 — first $1,000 per goal, and after the NHL lockout in 2004-05, $2,000 per goal..His donations to KidSport Calgary/Canada reached more than $800,000, benefitting children from coast to coast, according to the Calgary Sun. That’s a fair bit of coin..Iginla’s net worth is reportedly in the range of US$60 million, give or take. He did well here, before moving on to several other NHL teams..But should he have done more, for the city of Calgary? A city which adored him and continues to honour his legacy? Personally, I was expecting more..Although my Flames’ fans friends vehemently disagree..Largely, however, I believe our values have been completely destroyed by ridiculous money paid out to a few people, who power major sports leagues, big-time TV contracts and, in the end, big profits for greedy owners..Sponsorship money for merchandise branding, such as running shoes, apparel and accessories expands that exponentially..Nike's footwear net revenue from the North American market alone was approximately US$12.23 billion in fiscal 2022. Imagine having a piece of that pie..Years ago, a sportswriter buddy of mine was travelling with an NHL team — they did that back in the day..He said some players were reading law books, others were reading comic books..The entire spectrum..Anyway, on his way out, he found a players’ paycheque, on the floor of the plane. He looked at it. It was two weeks pay … $20,000..That’s right, two weeks pay. Talk about your basic eye-opener..He gave it to the thankful player, a third-line grinder, but the incident left him shaken..That was about six months pay, for the sportswriter at the time..Maybe it’s time, we make athletes give back? A charity clawback? Mandatory public relations activities? Community volunteering?.How about coaching at youth sports camps, becoming a mentor for local kids, visiting an elderly house, helping out with after-school programs, supporting local animal shelters, organizing a philanthropic event, such as a sport tournament or volunteering for a non-profit organization?.It’s not rocket science, folks. All it takes is a big heart, to do the right thing. To give back and be thankful for what you have achieved..There are no more Bobby Orrs. Sorry, but those days are over..A man as big in his skates as he was off the ice, and … probably still is..Alas, they just don’t make ‘em like that anymore.
